Justin Edinburgh will be a proud man when he takes his Gillingham team onto the pitch at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night.

Edinburgh made close to 300 appearances for Tottenham over a 10-year period and admitted to getting a little excited when the EFL Cup third round draw handed the Gills a trip to his former stomping ground.

He said: “The house was quite mad and the neighbours could hear the cheer.

“For my wife, my son and daughter, Tottenham was also a big part of their life and football has been a massive part.

“We were buzzing about it but not just for me. For the staff here, players and the supporters, it is fantastic.

“It will be a proud moment to lead Gillingham out against a team where I served for a long time.”

Edinburgh won the FA Cup with Tottenham in his first season at the club and in 1999 added a League Cup winners’ trophy to his collection after a dramatic late win over Leicester.

He should never have collected his medal, however, after receiving a 63rd-minute red card for an altercation with Leicester’s Robbie Savage.

Edinburgh took a swipe at Savage in response to the midfielder’s lunging tackle. Despite missing, the referee fell for the play-acting as Savage rolled around on the ground and dished out a red card to the Spurs man.

Edinburgh recalled the incident, with the game still at 0-0. He said: “Robbie Savage was throwing himself here, there and everywhere. He threw himself into a tackle which he was never going to get near to.

“I know what I did was wrong. People say that when you raise your arm you risk the chance of being sent off but there was no contact, it was a push rather than a punch.

“The referee could say he got it right but in terms of the occasion and the magnitude of the game if anything, a yellow card was the most I deserved. Unfortunately, it was red.

“I thought, oh my God, this could be red and it was. It was a bit of a blur then.”

Edinburgh faced the lonely walk to the tunnel, past the Leicester fans who were dishing out abuse and into the changing rooms.

He said: “I took my pads and boots off and sat there in my kit. Colin Calderwood, who missed out to be sub, came in to see if I was all right.”

Thankfully for Edinburgh, the red card was forgotten by the majority of the crowd as Allan Nielsen struck late on. Nobody was going to stop him joining in with the celebrations.

He said: “You are not meant to get your winner’s medal when you are sent off but I managed to work my way up the steps.

“There was a steward in the tunnel who said ‘rules are rules’ but I said to him, ‘listen mate, there are not many times you come to Wembley and win’. He realised there was no point stopping me.

“I went out with no boots on and did the lap of honour in my socks.

“The relief of the team winning took the edge off it being focused on myself. It was disappointing for me and my family to see their dad get sent off at Wembley.

“I didn’t cover myself in glory I guess but it worked out all right in the end. I got my medal and that was my last full season at the club, so I started and finished with a medal in two
cups.

“I had an unbelievable time there and it was a privilege and an honour to have played there for 10 years.

“I had some fantastic memories and played 300 games with some fantastic players and great managers and to do 10 years at a Premiership club is not a bad feat to achieve and I am proud of it.”

Getting the chance to take a club back wasn’t something he thought might happen when he started out managing at his local club, Billericay.

He said: “When I was at Billericay we were starting out in the qualifiers of the FA Cup and it was unrealistic we would play Spurs.

“When I got into the league at Newport then you hope you get that opportunity. When they got pulled out it was a dream draw.”

Full match coverage of Tottenham v Gills on www.kentonline.co.uk/sport